1. Technical Field
The present device relates to a weight assembly for athletic shoes, more particularly to an adjustable weight assembly for removable attachment to an athletic shoe upper.
2. Background Information
Athletes and others have used small weights of between one and thirty pounds for many years to build up muscles in the arms and legs. Ankle and leg weights have been available commercially for several decades.
Problems with currently available athletic shoe weights include: they are not removable or easy and quick to put on, increments of weight cannot easily be added or subtracted, and they often require permanent modification of the athletic shoe. The present adjustable, removable shoe weight assembly solves these and other problems. The weight plates of the present invention do not obstruct or interfere with the feet when they are in motion. Another advantage is that identical weights can be added to each shoe, or the user can add a succinct amount of additional weight to one shoe in the case where the muscle of one leg needs to be built up more than the other leg. With the present assembly, increments of weight are easy to put on and remove from the shoe, making progressive training possible. The user can start with a low amount of weight and gradually increase it as exercise or training progresses. This weight assembly can be used by different people in the same family with different weight requirements. For example, the present detachable weight assembly can be used by a man who works out with eight one pound weight plates on each foot, and then his wife, who jogs with four 0.5 pound weight plates on each foot. This shoe weight assembly is also useful for the lay person, professional athletes in training, or patients under a doctor's care who are undergoing physical therapy.
In general, conventional progressive weight training systems utilized for lower extremity strength training are of two basic types: stationary machines with resistance applied through the plane or around the axis of motion allowed by each specific machine, whether the machine is approached sitting, standing or lying down; or weights attached to the legs above the ankles, which allow for resisted movement through multiple planes and axes of movement simultaneously. The latter theoretically has a significant advantage in that human movement is not performed through a single plane or around a single axis of movement, but rather through multiple planes and axes simultaneously. In reality, this can present significant physical and physiological problems. Regardless of how well-fitting a weight cuff is, there remains significant slack around the weight. The slack generates inertia that is counter to the forces created by the movement being performed (called pistoning). Also, a weight cuff is bulky and can make coordinated movement difficult. More significantly, assuming these physical problems were to be overcome, the forces generated by a weight cuff are believed to be countered only by the musculature superior to (above) the knee. This can create a "dragging" effect, which is uncomfortable and generates a distractional force at the knee. This force further destabilizes the joint of the body which is the most inherently unstable and most often injured in athletic activity: the knee. The ill-effects of this distractional force are enhanced with fatigue, and can lead to inflammation and significant pain and injury. Therefore, as a viable weight training tool, it is believed that weight cuffs should be limited to non-weight bearing (open chain) exercise, and discouraged as a tool for activities such as walking, running, or jumping, particularly when those activities include changes in speed or direction.
The weight assembly of the present invention is attached to the body via the shoe in a manner that virtually eliminates pistoning. Due to its unique lay out, this shoe weight assembly minimizes the bulkiness associated with ankle weights. Significantly, any negative forces generated by the present shoe weight assembly are countered by the musculature superior and inferior to the knee because the present shoe weight assembly is attached below the ankle. This minimizes any dragging effect and eliminates distractional forces that can destabilize the knee and can lead to inflammation, pain, and injury. The type of co-contraction provided by the present assembly tends to stabilize the knee and activities such as walking, running, and jumping can be performed largely without the discomfort and increased risk of injury associated with conventional cuff weights.
With cuff weights, the cuff in use must be exchanged for a heavier cuff or additional cuffs must be added in order to increase weight. This further decreases their functional use. Due to the unique arrangement of the present assembly, weight can be increased or decreased quickly without a significant increase in the vertical or horizontal profile of the shoe. This maximizes functionality, while applying the positive benefits of progressive resistive exercise to athletic activities including walking, running and jumping. In addition, because each step generates greater forces of acceleration and deceleration, the musculature of the trunk and upper extremities must respond with greater force in order to maintain kinetic balance and produce coordinated movement. Therefore, the entire body is required to generate greater muscular activity, and the physiological demand on all muscles, tendons and ligaments is increased.